India announces 20-25% carbon intensity reduction by 2020

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Ahead of the Copenhagen talks, India on Thursday announced a voluntary plan to reduce carbon emission intensity by 20-25 per cent by 2020 through a series of measures, including mandatory fuel efficiency standards on all vehicles and introducing a new green building code.

At the same time, government made it clear that there is no question of accepting any legally binding emission cuts and agreeing on any "peaking year" for its emissions.

Rejecting the Opposition charge that government was preparing for a sell out in the Copenhagen summit by giving up on its long-held positions, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told the Lok Sabha the "I am not buying a ticket to Copenhagen to drown India's interests there."

He, however, said when India aspires to be a global power, it has to be flexible on such crucial issues.

"Flexibility does not mean a sell out ... We have to negotiate from a position of strength," he said.

Winding up a special discussion on climate change, the minister announced that India was voluntarily ready to reduce its emission intensity by 20-25 per cent in 15 years from 2005. "The emissions will go up but the intensity will go down."

The intensity reduction will be achieved through a legislation that will bring mandatory fuel efficiency norms for all vehicles, introducing model green building code and amendment of Energy Conservation Act to make it necessary for industries to have energy efficiency certificates.

Greater thrust will be given to generating electricity using clean coal technologies, he said adding that 50 per cent of all new capacity additions will be based on super critical and ultra critcal technologies.

Allaying members' apprehensions, Ramesh said India was not ready to subject its domestically-funded mitigation actions to international review.

However, India could be agreeable to international review for mitigation actions which are supported by western technology and finances, Ramesh said.

Responding to members' criticism about articulation of views by him which were termed as contradicting government's stand, he said it was common sense how he would survive as a junior minister in the government by going against the Prime Minister's views.

Ramesh said he may be articulating the views in a way different from how a conservative person would speak. "It is a question of semantics, but there is lot of unnecessary hair-splitting on that," he said.

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